EARTH-51124EARTH-51124
Type: Alternate Reality Earth;
observed in mid-20th century, 2000 A.D., and the latter 70th century A.D.
Environment: Destroyed;
formerly essentially Earth-like
Usual means of access: Vibrational attunement
Dominant Life Form: Humanity
Significant Inhabitants: 20th century: Robert Gordon; Alice, Jim, Ellen; Gordon's boss;
7000 A.D. Dr. Zord and associate;
Visitors: Greenies;
First Appearance: Strange Tales I#4 (December, 1951)
Abilities: By the 70th century A.D., scientists had access to (at least one) space ship(s), a time machine, a device
able to shrink Earth to a size of perhaps 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter
and the means to protect the planet and its people from damage while it
was removed from its orbit and carried in a person's hand.
History:
(Strange Tales I#4 (fb) - BTS)
<Circa 70th century.> - One of Dr. Zord's scientists was
experimenting on time travel and made an error, causing an explosion
that created a time warp
that created a backwash in time: Time would flow backwards, "like a river in reverse," wiping out
all existence.
Dr. Zord and/or other scientists resolved to bring a
person forward from the past (for some reason, they specifically needed someone from the 20th century), supply him with the technology to shrink
Earth and then transport Earth back to 1700 A.D. where Earth could be set
on another time track. 
The people of the future (possibly
Dr. Zord specifically) chose Robert Gordon of 1951 A.D. at random, although his
being knocked unconscious -- he was clumsy, ran into a lamp post -- somehow facilitated things.
Unable to time travel themselves, the extraterrestrials known as the Greenies apparently resented this and sought to destroy humanity and prevent them from saving their world.
(Strange Tales I#4 (fb)) - Robert
was transported forward in time around 5000 years in the future.
(Strange Tales I#4 (fb)) - Presumably to prevent him from hurting himself or others due to disorientation, Robert was strapped to a table. When he awakened, a pair of scientists (one of whom was Dr. Zord) explained the situation to him and removed his restraints. As the other scientist "got things ready," Dr. Zord explained the cause of the problem and the details of their plan to resolve it.
However, at that time, the Greenies attacked. Warned of this, Dr. Zord noted that they had even less time than he had thought, and he armed Robert with some sort of energy pistol while explaining the Greenies' threat.
Zord then led Robert
through a secret passageway to the remote-control laboratory where they
were charged by a group of Greenies who sought to kill them.
Alongside Zord, Robert
blasted the Greenies until they could escape through a tunnel, at the
end of which they a closed a heavy dura-steel door to hold back the Greenies.
Robert joked that that was the closest he had ever come to being cooked by a vegetable,
but Zord instructed him to listen closely as he explained that the
laboratory was really a space ship built around a time machine, and
that he was to blast into space, pull the lever that would shrink the
Earth, pick up the Earth and set the time machine apparatus to take him
back to 1700. 
After Zord departed the ship to fight off the Greenies as long as he could, Robert threw the switch to blast off.
Observing as the Greenies blasted
at his ship, and as the Greenies ships took after him, Zord or another
scientist gave him the order, and Robert pulled the switch (hoping that he had the right one) and successfully shrank the Earth.
After returning to retrieve the Earth, Robert was shocked to hold the entire planet in the palm of his hand and control humanity's fate.
Prideful that he would be the one to save the Earth, Robert initiated the time travel, which caused him to at least seemingly "spin dizzily in a stream of days, months, years...years flowed into centuries! Centuries became eons!"
As Robert approached the year 2000 A.D., the spinning slowed, and Robert thought that this looked like his home. 
With only three hundred years to go and figuring the world already saved, Robert decided to stop and see Miami Beach, as he had always wanted to do.
(Strange Tales I#4 (fb) - BTS) - However, as he stopped to look at the scenery, Robert dropped the Earth.
When he realized what he had done, he looked, but couldn't find it.
It is unrevealed how long Robert searched for the lost Earth, but he
appeared to be clean-shaven when he arrived, and he had a pretty thick
beard and his clothes were in tatters (presumably indicating at least a
week, if not more) when he encountered Jim and Ellen.
(Strange Tales I#4) - As Robert
desperately pleaded with those around to help him, Jim and his
girlfriend or wife, Ellen, called him over to tell them his story.
Having heard his tale, however, they denounced Robert as a madman and sent him away.
As Robert continued to look for the Earth, reality began to wiped out in a white wave of non-existence as the time backwash reached the year 2000 A.D.
Comments: Created by Bill LaCava and unidentified writer.
I'm not sure of the significance of 1700 A.D. in setting Earth on another track that would prevent the time backwash.Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Earth-51124 has no known connection to
  (Strange Tales I#4 (fb) - BTS)
<Circa 70th century.> - One of Dr. Zord's scientists was
experimenting on time travel and made an error, causing an explosion
that created a time warp
that created a backwash in time: Time would flow backwards, "like a river in reverse," wiping out
all existence.
Dr. Zord and/or other scientists resolved to bring a
person forward from the past (for some reason, they specifically needed someone from the 20th century), supply him with the technology to shrink
Earth and then transport Earth back to 1700 A.D. where Earth could be set
on another time track. The people of the future (possibly
Dr. Zord specifically) chose Robert Gordon of 1951 A.D. at random, although his
being knocked unconscious -- he was clumsy, ran into a lamp post -- somehow facilitated things. Unable to time travel themselves, the extraterrestrials known as the Greenies apparently resented this and sought to destroy humanity and prevent them from saving their world. (Strange Tales I#4 (fb)) - Robert
was transported forward in time around 5000 years in the future. (Strange Tales I#4 (fb)) - Presumably
to prevent him from hurting himself or others due to disorientation,
Robert was strapped to a table. When he awakened, a pair of scientists
(one of whom was
Dr. Zord) explained the situation to him and removed his restraints.
As the other scientist "got
things ready," Dr. Zord explained the cause of the problem and the
details
of their plan to resolve it. However, at that time, the Greenies attacked. Warned of this, Dr. Zord noted that they had even less time than he had thought, and he armed Robert with some sort of energy pistol while explaining the Greenies' threat. Zord then led Robert
through a secret passageway to the remote-control laboratory where they
were charged by a group of Greenies who sought to kill them. Alongside Zord, Robert
blasted the Greenies until they could escape through a tunnel, at the
end of which they a closed a heavy dura-steel door to hold back the Greenies. Zord subsequently instructed Gordon that the
laboratory was really a space ship built around a time machine, and
that he was to blast into space, pull the lever that would shrink the
Earth, pick up the Earth and then set the time machine apparatus to take him
back to 1700. After Zord departed the ship to fight off the Greenies as long as he could, Robert threw the switch to blast off. Observing as the Greenies blasted at his ship, and as the Greenies ships took after him, Zord or another scientist gave him the order, and Robert pulled the switch (hoping that he had the right one) and successfully shrank the Earth. (Strange Tales I#4 - BTS)
- After Robert had clumsily dropped and lost the Earth while having
stopped over in Miami Beach, circa 2000 A.D., Zord's plan failed, and
Earth and presumably all of reality was wiped out by the time backwash. Note: We don't know if Zord survived battling the Greenies or if he sacrificed himself to allow Robert Gordon to take off. When Robert was contacted and instructed to pull the lever, the person sending the message said, "This is Earth" (as opposed to "this is Zord). Regardless, Earth was ultimately wiped out by the time backwash after Robert failed in his mission. |
  
Jim and Ellen were enjoying a day on a beach around the year 2000 A.D.
in Miami when they encountered Robert Gordon, ranting that he needed
their help to save the world. Ellen considered him to be "one of those interesting crack-pots," found him fascinating and asked Jim to call him over so they could talk to him. Considering that sometimes these guys had interesting yarns to tell, Jim welcomed the "old chap" to come in out of the sun, relax and have a drink. They were initially amused as he discussed how he could only stop briefly or the world was doomed, after which he related how he had been summoned to the future and then sent back in time on a mission to save the Earth. However, by the time Robert had finished his tale, Jim and Ellen considered him to be a madman, and they walked away from him. Jim started to note that "that one was a case for the books," but then they were shocked, and Ellen screamed as they were wiped from existence by the time backwash. --Strange Tales I#4/5 |
  Dr. Zord's laboratory was really a space ship built around a time machine. The ship was apparently a VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) craft, although it was not seen to land. Once Robert Gordon activated the time machine, he apparently left the ship in the future, as he and the shrunken Earth were transported through time. (Strange Tales I#4/5) - To stop a time backwash that threatened all existence, Dr. Zord and/or other scientists resolved to bring a person forward from the past (for some reason, they specifically needed someone from the 20th century), supply him with the technology to shrink Earth and then transport Earth back to 1700 A.D. where Earth could be set on another time track. After summoning Robert Gordon to the future, Zord explained the explained the cause of the problem and the details of their plan to resolve it: Zord then led Robert
through a secret passageway to the remote-control laboratory where they
were charged by a group of Greenies who sought to kill them. Alongside Zord, Robert blasted the Greenies until they could escape through a tunnel, at the end of which they a closed a heavy dura-steel door to hold back the Greenies. Robert joked that that was the closest he had ever come to being cooked by a vegetable, but Zord instructed him to listen closely as he explained that the laboratory was really a space ship built around a time machine, and that he was to blast into space, pull the lever that would shrink the Earth, pick up the Earth and set the time machine apparatus to take him back to 1700. . . After Zord departed the ship to fight off the Greenies as long as he could, Robert threw the switch to blast off.
After returning to retrieve the Earth, Robert was shocked to hold the entire planet in the palm of his hand and control humanity's fate. Prideful that he would be the one to save the Earth, Robert initiated the time travel, which caused him to at least seemingly "spin dizzily in a stream of days, months, years...years flowed into centuries! Centuries became eons!" As Robert approached the year 2000 A.D., the spinning slowed, and Robert thought that this looked like his home. With only three hundred years to go and figuring the world already saved, Robert
decided to stop and see Miami Beach...and he absent-mindedly dropped
the Earth and was unable to find it before the time backwash wiped
Earth (and perhaps the entire reality) from existence. Note: Did the shrinking machine utilize Pym Particles or something else? The world may never know! |
  .. . . . When pulled forward in time, Robert was struck by a beam of energy, which was painful despite his having been unconscious, and then everything seemed to melt into a swirling, twisting whirlpool that sucked him deep into its vortex...and then he awakened on Dr. Zord's table. |
  .. . . When sent backward in time from the ship, Robert felt as if he was sucked into a whirlpool of time, and he spun dizzily in a stream of days, months, years...years flowed into centuries! Centuries became eons!" As Robert approached the year 2000 A.D., the spinning slowed, and Robert -- who seemed to be contained within a structure similar to a giant hourglass -- thought that this looked like his home. When he stopped to enjoy
Miami, no obvious device was shown, and it is unclear what he would
have done to restart the time travel process and get to 1700 A.D. as
planned. |
images: (without ads):
Strange Tales I#4/5, pg. 1, panel 1 (Jim & Ellen, fullish);
panel 3 (Jim & Ellen by umbrella);
pg. 2, panel 7-8 (Robert Gordon pulled forward in time);
pg. 3, panel 1 (Gordon waking up with Zord & associate);
panel 3 (Zord, face);
panel 4 (Zord's building);
panel 5 (Zord, full & lab);
pg. 4, panel 2 (Zord & Gordon blasting Greenies);
panel 5 (Zord, with Gordon at ship's controls);
panel 6 (ship taking off);
pg. 5, panel 3 (Gordon flipping switch);
panel 5-6 (Earth shrinking);
pg. 6, panel 1 (Gordon with the whole world, in his hand);
panel 2 (ship flying);
panel 3 (Gordon sent back in time);
panel 4 (Gordon in hourglass);
pg. 7, panel 5-6 (time backwash wiping out reality)
Appearances:
Strange Tales I#4/5, "The Man on the Beach" (December, 1951) - Bill LaCava (artist)
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
First posted: 08/18/2024
Last updated: 08/18/2024
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Observing as the Greenies blasted
at his ship, and as the Greenies ships took after him, Zord or another
scientist gave him the order, and Robert pulled the switch (hoping that he had the right one) and successfully shrank the Earth.